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DURHAM, N.C. and SEOUL, Korea, June 19 The journal STEMCELLS(R) announces that Lena Motoda, M.D., Ph.D. won the 3rd Annual STEMCELLS(R) Young Investigator Award. Co-sponsored by The International Stem CellSymposium, the $10,000 prize is annually given to a young scientist who is theprincipal author of a research paper published in STEM CELLS judged to be mostimportant by a worldwide jury. A medical graduate of The University of Tokyo,Dr. Motoda received her Ph.D. degree for her Young Investigator Award winningresearch conducted at the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, NationalUniversity of Singapore, with the mentorship of Associate Professor MotomiOsato and Professor Yoshiaki Ito. Dr. Motoda is currently in the Departmentof Pediatrics, Toranomon Hospital, Tokyo.

STEM CELLS published Dr. Motoda's landmark paper that describes theimportance of "RUNX1" as a molecular guardian of stem cells that produce bloodcells. RUNX1, a transcription factor protein, protects these vital cells fromcancer-inducing molecular insults by maintaining fail-safe cellularmechanisms. This may offer new therapeutic options for blood cellmalignancies like leukemia and lymphoma. The article is freely availableonline: http://stemcells.alphamedpress.org/cgi/content/full/25/12/2976 .

Professor Miodrag Stojkovic, co-editor of STEM CELLS, remarked that, "Dr.Motoda's discovery demonstrates, once again, why it is essential to understandbasic molecular mechanisms since these revelations may both help preventdisease and enable the development of novel and hopefully more effectivetherapeutic options." To which Professor Donald Phinney, STEM CELLS' otherco-editor, remarked, "The manuscript by Motoda and her colleagues is anexcellent example of how molecular mechanisms that regulate stem cellself-renewal, cell proliferation, and cell death are inextricably linked andhow the perturbation of these pathways can cooperate to promote malignancies."

The 3rd annual award, presented on June 20th during the 6th AnnualInternational Stem Cell Symposium, in Seoul, Korea, is considered one of themost important in this fast paced research arena. "The journal STEM CELLS isthe oldest and most respected journal devoted to stem cell research andregenerative medicine. The International Stem Cell Symposium, now in itssixth year, is pleased to partner with this world-class journal," saidProfessor Il-Hoan Oh, Director of The Catholic University of Korea's Cell &Gene Therapy Institute and chair of the Symposium's organizing committee.

The International Stem Cell Symposium (http://www.cic.re.kr/symposium) hasbeen organized annually by faculty of The Catholic University of Korea atwhich the most promising basic and clinical research dealing with stem cellsand their therapeutic applications is critically discussed by cutting-edgeresearchers.

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STEM CELLS(R) (http://www.StemCells.com), the international journal ofcell differentiation and proliferation, publishes original articles andconcise reviews describing basic laboratory investigations of stem cells andthe translation to patient care. The Journal covers all aspects of stem cellsand regenerative medicine. In its 26th year of publication, STEM CELLS is thefirst journal devoted to this fast-paced field of research. Its Impact Factorof 7.924 places it in the top 3% of all high-impact international journals.

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